


An Unexpected Meeting (And Another)

by Bam4Me



Series: Growth [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Erebor is a center for liberal arts and craftsmanship, F/M, Gen, Khuzdul, Khuzdul is based off of Hebrew, M/M, Modern Middle Earth, So this implies that all the dwarves are in a religion akin to Judaism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-21
Updated: 2016-12-21
Packaged: 2018-09-10 18:19:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8928085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bam4Me/pseuds/Bam4Me
Summary: Thorin Oakenshield is a dignified man. He's the CEO of a big corporation with a good reputation, and he had a bleeding heart for children and anyone who looks upset.Dis Durin is a bored woman, who's love for her family is fierce, and her love for language is close to home.Bilbo has a type.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, about Erebor: It's basically the worlds biggest liberal arts center, sort of like how Erebor in the books is a place for dwarves to craft and build. Bilbo is going to the main building in this, because he needs to drop off a manuscript with Ori (his editor for his novels) and it's amazing. I like the idea of Erebor being a liberal arts center. (Thorin runs the place, but he's also a very accomplished metalwork craftsman, Dis is a language buff -which is totally what she and Bilbo are gonna bond over at some point- and she doesn't teach there, but she learned a LOT of what she knows there, Fili is a gem cutter, and he's training to take over a class to teach there, and Kili isn't actually working there, but he has ADHD and is probably taking like ten classes there -one of which is an archery class taught by Legolas and his BFF is Tauriel- and it's amazing, okay, this series is basically liberal arts obsession school.)
> 
> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com

When Thorin came into Erebor that morning, already dreading the meetings that Balin was insisting he’d be late for, he ended up pausing, mid-stride, when he caught sight of a slight crowd standing in front of a supply closet.

 

He put down the document he’d been looking at and shoved it back into his bag before making his way over to stand next to Dwalin.

 

The head of security was gently ushering the others away from the supply closet, but he wasn’t making too big of a fuss, so Thorin was pretty sure it wasn’t that bad. He still sided up the the giant security man when they were mostly alone, other than a small blonde man sitting in front of the supply closet, looking like he was quietly talking to someone inside of it, too low for either of them to hear.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

Dwalin gave him an odd look. “You’re running late again, aren’t you? I have this covered, you don’t need to stay here.”

 

Thorin’s face turned into a grumpy frown. He’s not gonna admit it, but his patience has been a little bit short since Kili moved out with his brother. He misses his tiny terror sometimes. “That’s not what I asked.”

 

Dwalin shrugged, before sighing. “A kid locked himself in the closet. His uncle thinks he can get him out, but he doesn’t seem to be listening. If it goes too far, I’ll handle it, but it’s not hurting anything right now to let him get the kid out on his own time.”

 

Thorin looked down at his bag in contemplation for a few seconds before giving Dwalin a grin, making the security guard huff. “If you’re going to be late to Balin’s meetings, you better give him a good reason.”

 

Thorin smiled, all sunshine and charm. “I always have good reasons, Dwalin. Not my fault he doesn’t always agree.”

 

He walked over to where the worried looking man was sitting on the ground, and moved to slide down the wall next to him there.

 

The small man looked started, blinking at him twice before looking guilty. “Um, sorry, he should be out soon.”

 

Thorin shrugged. “He’s a kid. Kids do things on their own time, I’ve learned.”

 

Bilbo was not, in fact, having a good day today, though he did pause his internal freak out, to just look at the man who was sitting next to him now. He was wearing an honest to god  _ suit _ , so most likely, he wasn’t at the creativity center to teach a class, and even less likely, to attend one. He probably had some stupidly important meeting that Bilbo was keeping him from right now, and Bilbo felt a pang of guilt for a moment for keeping him, before he realized, whoever this was, he was most likely trying to help him.

 

He let out a little sigh. “He’s upset with me right now.”

 

Thorin cocked his head at Bilbo a moment, and raised an eyebrow. “Does he have reason to be?”

 

Bilbo shook his head. “He thinks he does. He doesn’t, but he thinks he does. He thinks I’m taking him back to the social services building.”

 

Thorin’s other eyebrow joined the first, and he hummed a little. “Now, why ever would he think that?”

 

Bilbo shrugged, before his features set into an angry scowl. “He was staying with our cousin before I got back into the country after…” He trailed off, swallowing once, and looking uncomfortable. Thorin could make an educated guess, and nodded for him to go on. “Lobelia is a horrible person. She knows nothing about children, whenever he did something wrong, she threatened to take him back to the social services. We were running errands when he heard me say we needed to stop at the building and he freaked out.”

 

Thorin looked over to the door when he heard a small shuffling noise, and leaned in, knowing that the kid, whoever he was, was listening. “Why do you need to go back?”

 

Bilbo bit his lower lip, unable to keep the little smile off his features, sad though it might be, at their current predicament. “I they said they have the adoption papers ready, and I can come in any time to sign them. We only need to come back once, I guess I should have explained it to him.”

 

Thorin felt his features go all soft at the words, and had to look away so he didn’t end up grinning like an idiot, though it was a close thing. “How old is he?”

 

“Seven.”

 

“I remember when mine were that age- oh, of course, not  _ mine _ mine. They were my nephews. I helped my sister raise them. But they were always so strong willed at that age. Never let anyone correct them.”

 

Bilbo smiled a little, glad he wasn’t the only parent who’s not a parent, here. “Yeah, I’ve found, that kids usually have their own thoughts and opinions. They’re very important like that.”

 

They both heard another shuffle behind the door, but no one came out. Thorin smiled a little, glad they were at least sort of making some headway. “How long have you known him? Were you always there for him?”

 

Bilbo looked a little wistful, before letting out a little snort. “His mother went into labor at my twenty first birthday party. I remember she gave birth right there in my Aunt Rose’s guest bedroom. Goodness, I knew nothing about babies, but everyone kept telling me it was good luck that he was born the same day as me. I probably looked terrified when they asked if I wanted to hold him.”

 

Thorin smiled, laughing a little. “And you did?”

 

Bilbo nodded. “I stood there gaping like an idiot for so long, they sort of shoved me in a seat and… and then I really saw him for the first time. He was so little, but he already had a full head of hair.”

 

Thorin remembered when Fili and Kili were born. They both had hair like that, though Kili’s was baby soft, and Fili’s was thick. They had both been so small. “They often do. That when you realized you’d do anything to protect him, isn’t it?”

 

Bilbo nodded, a little choked up. Thorin could see his eyes were a little wet. “Gods yes. He was perfect, and sweet, and amazing, from the moment I saw him. And when I held him, I knew. I would  _ never _ take him back, he’s the best kid in the world.”

 

They both heard a small click, and the supply closet opened up, just a crack at first, before swinging open. Standing in the doorway was a tiny little faunt, soft black curls and a wobbling lower lip. Thorin realized he had the exact same eyes as the man sitting next to him.

 

“Uncle?”

 

Bilbo held his arms out for the little boy, and the child took a dive for him, tiny little tears making his way down his cheeks, sad and desperate all the same. “I’m here, sweetling, you don’t have anything to worry about, I’ll always be here.  _ No one _ will take you from me.”

 

Thorin couldn’t hold back the smile, and slowly got up off the ground again - though, mostly because his back was already a little sore from the hard ground, though the small blonde man seemed perfectly fine. Mahal, the joys of youth astound him every time.

 

He walked back over to where Dwalin was looking at him with a stupid smirk on his face, and figured Balin had probably already called his brother to tell him he’d be getting in trouble for being late, only to be stopped by a tap on his shoulder.

 

He turned back around, to find the small blonde -and goodness, he was tiny, Thorin had to look way down to see him- standing there with the tired looking boy still in his arms, held up against his chest. “I… thanks.”

 

Thorin smiled at him, before his brain kicked into gear again. “I hope you didn’t miss whatever appointment you had in the building. If you need any assistance making that up, I’m sure that Dwalin would be happy to help you before you leave.”

 

He pulled out a card from his bag, holding it out to the man, who took it with a cautious glance at the security guard behind him. Thorin didn’t blame him. Even  _ he _ had to look up to see him. “Uh, actually, don’t worry about that. I was actually here to drop off a manuscript with one of the editors on the third floor. No appointment needed.”

 

The man smiled, and finally looked down to the business card, before turning a little white. “Oh…”

 

Because, everyone knew that Thorin Oakenshield, is the current head, and CEO of Erebor.

 

Thorin looked away a little, not wanting him to think he was upset for helping him. “Well, you know my name, I’d like to know yours as well.”

 

Bilbo went a little pink in the cheeks for a moment, as if suddenly hit by the realization that Thorin was  _ cute _ . Eru, he’d always thought that the CEO of Erebor would be some stiffly old goat with more grey hair than anything. Not… hot… “Bilbo Baggins.”

 

Thorin grinned down at him before softening when he landed on the child, who was tiredly scrubbing his eyes into Bilbo’s collarbone. “And this one?”

 

Bilbo smiled, turning his head to press a kiss to those pretty black curls. “Frodo.”

 

“Frodo. A lovely name.”

 

***

 

Dis’s day was  _ dragging on _ . It was like nothing in the world could cure her boredom right now.

 

Of course, if she told Thorin that, he’d say that she should come into Erebor and help her with meetings and stuff like like. She’s bored, not stupid. She’s not gonna go there unless forced.

 

When she came into Dori’s tea shop that morning, she noticed a parent and child sitting in the book area, a small blonde man sitting on the floor with a little boy nestled mostly in his arms while they looked at something. It made her smile as she went to go get a nice after-work out cup of tea, and listened to the man entertaining the boy.

 

He was an excitable little thing, eagerly bringing over books for the other to see, and sounding out the words on them as he went. Goodness, he reminded her of Fili, back when he was little; always so eager to learn and read. Fili was a total bookworm too.

 

Instead of going to the cafe side of the store to sit down, she headed over to the tiny reading nook in the same side of the cafe as them, settling down with a book Thorin had thrown at her that morning -because siblings are loving assholes- and settled in to get some reading done today. It was just after noon.

 

“Really my lad, I’m sure you can read it yourself if you try, huh?”

 

Dis smiled at the conversation, deciding that this was much better than sitting at home that morning just in case one of her boys came to see her that day. Thorin says she’s been moping too much since they moved out. Especially since she would usually see them anyways if she came into Erebor.

 

“No, Uncle, I don’t think I can. I’m pretty sure this isn’t a word.”

 

Bilbo held his arms out for the little boy to come back to him, and saw the issue right away. “Sweetling, I’m sorry, I don’t think I can read that either, it’s in Khuzdul.”

 

Frodo pouted, squirming a little in his lap. “But, but, you speak other languages?”

 

Bilbo let out a little chuckle. “I’m sorry, sweetie, Sindarin and Khuzdul aren’t the same thing. To be honest, we’re lucky these are even Common characters. I don’t think I could properly pronounce it anyways, ‘kuz…’ huh, that sure is confusing. I wonder if you’re supposed to pronounce the h…”

 

Dis couldn’t help herself, lowering the book that she hasn’t really been reading up till now, and getting out of the little nook. “I could help you read that if you want?”

 

She knelt next to the two boys, both of whom, were looking at her with the same sunshiney smiles. Goodness, these two were adorable. All bright blue eyes and big curls. She sort of wanted to pinch their cheeks.

 

“You can?”

 

She nodded, holding her hand out for the book. “Of course. My grandfather was very traditional. Me and my brothers learned Khuzdal before we could speak Common. I did the same thing with my own boys as well, which turned out to be a horrible idea.”

 

Bilbo looked amused. “And why was that?”

 

Dis smirked. “Because afterwords, teaching Kili Common was  _ hell _ . He refused to learn till he was six, and still sometimes doesn’t speak it. His brother basically lives as his translator.”

 

Bilbo snorted, letting Frodo go when he scrambled out of his lap so he could get a better look at the book the woman was holding now. Bilbo was about to tell him not to get too close, but she easily accepted him when he smooshed up against her side, pointing to one of the words on the front cover. “What’s that mean?”

 

“That’s khuzd. It means dwarf.”

 

Bilbo raised an eyebrow. “Dwarf?”

 

Dis grinned again. “The first thing you learn in Khuzdul school as a child, is that about ninety percent of the stories and histories, include dwarves, and no one knows why. It’s interesting, but it usually leads to confusion. For all we know, dwarf could have been an old Khuzdul term for our religion, but I don’t know.”

 

Bilbo smiled at the woman. “Would you mind ever so much, if I asked if you could teach me a little? If Frodo wants to read the books in Khuzdul, I might as well learn enough to get by.”

 

Dis couldn’t help the way her cheeks heated up a little. Fuck, he was  _ adorable _ when he looked up at her like that. He was pretty small, and very nice to look at. She didn’t think she’d mind helping him at all. “I’d love to. I’m Dis.”

 

“Bilbo.”

 

***

 

When Thorin got home for dinner that night, Dis was already in the kitchen, cooking something, that for once, smelled palatable. She was humming while adding things to a pot, and Thorin grinned, putting his bag down on the table and giving her a kiss on the cheek before he went to get a water bottle from the fridge. “You sound cheerful.”

 

When she turned to look at him, she had a brilliant smile on her face. “I got a date.”

 

Thorin snorted, moving to sit in one of the seats at the table behind her. “Nice. I did too.”

 

“Amazing. Now we can finally gloat to Fili and Kili that we’re not  _ completely _ useless without them.”

 

Thorin grinned. “Yeah. Who are you going out with?”

 

Dis smiled, looking stupidly cheerful. “Oh, he’s the most adorable. I met him in Dori’s cafe today, helped him read a book in Khuzdul. He said he always wanted to learn, but he can’t ever find any classes for adults. He had the  _ nicest _ butt too-”

 

“Wow, and here I thought you liked him for his brains.”

 

Dis shrugged. “Well, his brains are nice too, but his butt is something I want to squeeze…” She trailed off, looking wistful.

 

Thorin shook his head, looking amused. “I came into work this morning, ended up late to a meeting cause someone’s kid locked themselves in a closet and I helped calm him down to get out. Balin yelled at me, but I got the uncle’s number, so it was well worth it.”

 

“Nice.”

**Author's Note:**

> littlesforfandom.tumblr.com
> 
> (In case anyone didn't figure it out, I cut the scenes short, but Bilbo totally asked both of them out.)


End file.
